GREETING FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL 
Thank you all for your help and attendance at last Thursday's annual ski and skate sale. I want to  thank Mary for all of the hours she has put into making this event a success and for outfitting our community with skis. Now all we need is some snow and we are ready for a great winter of skiing. 
 
On Tuesday we enjoyed the winter concert for students in grades 5-8. This is always a special evening, and the students did not disappoint. We are proud of all of our students for their stellar performances, and we are looking forward to next week's concert with students in grades K-4, which promises to be great fun as well. Thanks so much to the parents who volunteered to decorate the auditorium for the concerts - it looked beautiful last night!
Tomorrow, December 10, we will have another parent coffee in my office right after drop off. In an effort to make these events more accessible to parents with different schedules, a parent coffee will be organized for the afternoon in the new year.

Madame Jo will spend six weeks in Ecuador this winter to work on language teaching skills. (Please read more about her adventure in this notice.)

A huge thanks goes to Rachel Portesi for the wonderful sibling and friend photos. If you haven't already, be sure to stop by the lower school to take a look at the bulletin board outside of Tammy's office. For those who were not here on the day photos were taken, we will have a make up date soon.   
  
TGS SECRET SANTA
2015 - Holiday fun and one of the longest running traditions at TGS! 
This is an activity that celebrates the joy, generosity, and excitement of the solstice and holiday season. The eighth grade organizes the annual TGS Secret Santa draw, in conjunction with a food drive for The Putney Food Shelf. This is a schoolwide activity that involves all faculty and staff, as well as all students from K-8th grades.
      
Each person draws the name of someone in the school. From December 11 through December 17, we write notes to the people for whom we are Secret Santas, giving hints as to who we are, and, perhaps, including a little surprise, if it is convenient. Notes and cards are wonderful. Remember not to tell anyone whom you have drawn, as it is SECRET!
 
The week of December 14 everyone brings in a small gift (homemade or valued under $5) for the person he or she drew AND an item to donate to the Putney Food Shelf.

On the last day of the term, December 18, we have a Secret Santa assembly when gifts are distributed and the food we have collected is presented to Putney Family Services. If you have questions, please email Laurie. 
 
UPDATES FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND HOS SEARCH COMMITTEE 
Dear TGS Community Members: 
The board will hold another open, informal advisory session on Friday, December 18 at 8:30am in TGS auditorium. As in the past, these are simply opportunities for parents or others in the community to chat with us about anything. Hope to see you there.

Also, in terms of a HOS search update, the committee has screened two batches of candidates/applicants and we are arriving at ones we feel are deserving of a telephone interview.  We are hoping to conduct those calls before the holiday break. The search committee and some trustees are going to meet with faculty and staff next week to share the search experience thus far, answer questions, talk about future campus visits from finalists, etc.

As always, if there are any questions about the board, our role, etc., just reach out to any one of us (see link here for good TGS board information).
  
Thank you,
Peter Eden

FACULTY APPRECIATION LUNCHEON
Hello everyone! It's that time of year to get ready for the Annual Holiday Faculty Appreciation Luncheon! You should have received emails from your class parent with details. This is a reminder to PLEASE find what works for you and sign up accordingly. The sign up list is outside Tammy's office. Also, if you're not planning on physically being at TGS soon, I'm happy to sign you up. Just email me and let me know.

This is a festive and fun event to help with and we need everyone help to make it happen! Any comments or questions, let me know.

TUESDAY SKI DAYS
Information and registration forms for Okemo and Grafton programs should be returned to Tammy by Monday, December 14.
 
BILL KOCH XC SKI LEAGUE
Information and sign up sheets for the winter BKL after school XC ski program are available here and on the website.

BKL Orienteering December 9 
Park in the main lot at the Putney School and meet by 3:30at PAGES Field. Pick up 5pm at the parking lot. For more information, please contact BKL coordinator Hans Estrin by email or at 802 380 2109.  
 
K-4 WINTER CONCERT DECEMBER 15 
We're looking forward to seeing you at school on Tuesday, December 15 for the K-4 Winter Concert to share our music and dancing with you and celebrate the holidays together.
 
Dress Rehearsal 1:30 pm 
CONCERT 6:30 pm
Snow Date Thursday, Dec. 17 - 6:30 pm
 
Friendly reminders ~ 
  • Please email Alli of absences for dress rehearsal or concert at your earliest convenience.
  • For the concert, students should arrive by 6:10pm and report as follows: K-1-2 to Kindergarten room; 3rd & 4th to 3rd grade room
  • Please dress nicely with no advertising on shirts (except TGS!)
  • 3rd or 4th graders who arrive without music or instrument, please go immediately to the theater to see Carol Cutts to get what they need.
Thank you!
Alli 
 
MADAME JO TO GO ON A LANGUAGE LEARNING ADVENTURE TO ECUADOR
I am taking advantage of a program offered by The Experiment in International Living/World Learning for teachers wanting to become certified to teach English as a Second Language. World Learning will provide an in-depth cross-cultural learning experience, as well as the latest in pedagogical training, for teaching a second language. In addition, they will offer Spanish classes. As I continually try to grow in my field and experience learning another language just as my students do, I decided to put myself into a situation where I will have to speak Spanish daily. This will be a very exciting and challenging trip as I spend four weeks in my intensive TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) course, while living in a Spanish speaking homestay. 
 
During my absence, two wonderful teachers will fill my shoes. For preschool-4th grades, Laura Pratt will be the new French teacher. She has many songs, skits, and stories to share with the children, from years of teaching at Bement School. Beth Henkle will be working with 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Beth is a TGS alum who first studied French  at TGS with Maggie Smith, and then went on to study it in high school and college. Beth also brings her breadth of knowledge of Africa, having traveled extensively in many African countries. She will share this knowledge in the context of French class, and students will learn about some of the French speaking countries in Africa.

Madame Jo will be gone from January 1 to February 15.
 
GIRLS ON THE RUN - COACHES NEEDED!  Girls on the run is a national program for girls in 3rd-5th grades, and it has been very popular at TGS. We are looking for coaches for the TGS chapter this spring. Please contact Mary if you are interested - it is a fun, rewarding experience!
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DECEMBER

10 Coffee with Dan 8:30am

15 K-4 Concert 6:30pm

18 Half day - noon dismissal

21-31 Winter break - NO SCHOOL

JANUARY

1 New Years Day - NO SCHOOL

4 Winter term begins

5 Okemo and Grafton ski day 

COMMUNITY NEWS
HUNGER BANQUET AT PUTNEY CENTRAL SCHOOL
Where Will You Sit? Putney School Students Host Oxfam Hunger Banquet Benefit
At this interactive event, the place where you sit, and the meal that you eat, are determined by the luck of the draw - just as in real life some of us are born into relative prosperity and others into poverty.

Students at The Putney School and volunteers at the Putney Foodshelf have organized an Oxfam Hunger Banquet that will take place at the Putney Central School on Westminster Rd. in Putney on Friday, December 11 at 6pm. Mary Starkey, program support coordinator for Oxfam America in Boston, will be the keynote speaker and master of ceremonies.

The Hunger Banquet can be an effective way to simulate the imbalanced distribution of food in our world. Participants represent various countries around the globe and receive a meal that corresponds to that country's economic status. The Hunger Banquet is an opportunity for your community to actively express solidarity with the poor around the world. The banquet is a fundraising event for Oxfam America and the Putney Foodshelf. Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations working in approximately 94 countries worldwide to find solutions to poverty and injustice. The Putney Foodshelf provides supplemental healthy food for area people in need. Suggested donations are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and/or food donations for the Putney Foodshelf.
Miye and Maeve, a junior and senior student at The Putney School, respectively, are coordinating the event with The Putney School's executive chef, Marty Brennan-Sawyer, and the Putney Foodshelf's Susan Kochinskas as projects stemming from classes at the school. Miye's is an outgrowth of Comparative Religions, while Maeve is connecting hers to Media Studies.
For a successful event, the hosts need to know how many will be attending, so please reserve your place by emailing alumni@putneyschool.org.
BABY CARRIER DRIVE 
Do you have a gently used soft structured carrier (such as Ergo or Baby Bjorn, but any brand is fine) that you no longer need? I am collecting baby carriers for the organization Carry the Future, which provides them to Syrian refugees once they come to shore in Greece. To find out more about this organization, visit their website: http://www.carrythefuture.org. In addition to the carrier, you can also send socks, a hat, a small stuffed animal, and other comfort items that can fit in the carrier's pocket. You also may want to include a note for the family that will ultimately receive the carrier. Questions? Please email jenniferjacobs14@gmail.com. You can put the carrier in Jasper's cubby or contact me and I will come pick it up.
Thank you! 

APARTMENT FOR RENT
Apartment for rent: 3-4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, kitchen, laundry, internet, nice yard space, stream, barn...less than half a mile from TGS on Tavern Hill Road. Available early October. Great for a family! @1200/mo., includes utilities. Email aliciabdana@gmail.com

NEWS ITEMS
Please send your Community News items to Mary by Tuesday morning to be included in the Wednesday Notice. If you have news you would like to share with The Grammar School community, please contact Mary.